Lost Factor
by NeverMineToHold
Summary: An apparition appears in Atlantis, wearing the face of Lt. Colonel John Sheppard - bloody, dusty, full of sand, but so obviously alive that Rodney's eyes start to burn. McShep Pre-Slash


Title: "Lost Factor"

Status: OneShot; complete

Fandom: Stargate Atlantis

Characters/Pairing: John Sheppard, Rodney McKay

Disclaimer: Not mine, just playing; no copyright infringement intended.

Rating: T

Genre: pre-slash, slight canon-AU

Warnings: unbeta'ed, missing scene from S04E20 "The Last Man" but doesn't contain any spoilers worth mentioning

Summary: An apparition appears in Atlantis, wearing the face of Lt. Colonel John Sheppard - bloody, dusty, full of sand, but so obviously alive that Rodney's eyes start to burn.

Lost Factor

The tablet clattered to the ground from his slack fingers, its screen full of data flickering and fading to black with an ominous crack. Rodney didn't pay it any heed though, didn't mind the hours of research wasted, his stare was fixed on the apparition before him.

It masqueraded itself as Lt. Colonel John Sheppard: dusty, bloody and scattering sand everywhere, skin an angry red but so obviously alive that Rodney's eyes started to burn. And the bastard was grinning, always that careless upward pull of his mouth, the easy slouch, all those non-verbal signs and Rodney had to wonder about the truth underneath.

"McKay," not-John said, his gaze wandering around, restless and full of silent wonder, like a traveler finding shelter in a cave full of treasures. "I can't believe it worked! You're a genius - well the other you, both of you, but..." He paused and took a closer look. "You okay, buddy?"

The words didn't quite register, but Rodney thought distantly that they must have tasted like metal on Sheppard's tongue, bleeding as he was; a slow trickle of life down his temple.

"McKay?"

Another drop.

"Rodney?"

He couldn't look away.

Questions crowded on the tip of Rodney's tongue but got stuck there, his mind wiped clean of anything beyond this painful mixture of relief and helpless frustration. Two weeks of getting nowhere, Ancient tech and all his knowledge useless in the simple task of finding one man and no sleep to be found beyond that gained by heavy medication, yes, that would do this to anyone, right?

Because it couldn't be shock. There was no way that John Sheppard could have that kind of sway over him, doing what Stargates and Wraith and foreign galaxies hadn't achieved: silencing Rodney McKay. And yet nothing had felt right, no equation would add up, logic had flown out of the window when this one factor had been removed while gating back from M4S-587.

Rodney wondered distantly what that meant. He had never before rated the human factor very high on his list of priorities or missed a breathing component in his life. The pieces had never before fit to include him in a social system beyond his own family (and even that was complicated) and his work place relationships (superficial).

Sheppard's grin wavered and the slouch straightened out. "You're beginning to worry me here, buddy."

Rodney shook himself – he could figure that out later. He stepped closer, glad that no one was there to witness the head of science struck speechless. Or smiling crookedly.

"John?"

"Yeah, that's me. McKay, what's -" Sheppard trailed off and went rigid.

Rodney felt him tense under his searching fingertips. It didn't stop him from touching bloody strands of hair and overheated skin, not even when warm breath fanned his own face.

"Never noticed you've got freckles."

This inane, 100 %-pure John Sheppard comment - or maybe the blood on Rodney's lips or an internal proximity alert deciding to go off now that it was too late - made him blink. He became aware of how close those green flecks in hazel eyes were and jumped back as if bitten.

"Oh my god, it's really you! How dare you show up after twelve days! I - "

"Well, had I known I was missed this much..." Sheppard, damn him, licked his moist lips.

"You - ?!"

Of course that was the moment when a swarm of armed marines surrounded them, led by Sam, and then Keller whisked Sheppard away to the infirmary, leaving it up to Rodney to explain what had happened. Not that he knew anything for sure, but he had some theories, even if the tingling on his lips was damn distracting.

The rest he would figure out later. He was a genius, after all, and learning something new – the taste on his tongue, the smell in his nose, the man both belonged to – would be a welcome challenge.

The End

AN: Feedback would be great ;)


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